Being Mindful Stories

Story · Ajahn Chah

The thirsty man and the poisoned water

From a talk by Ajahn Chah, “The Two Faces of Reality”

1 min read

A fable he told: A fable or parable Ajahn Chah told to make a point, not something that happened to him.

The story — retold in our own words from Ajahn Chah's talk

Retold in our own words from Ajahn Chah's talk “The Two Faces of Reality”, in The Teachings of Ajahn Chah (2007 web edition), pp. 30–31. Read the original talk

A man comes walking along a road, very thirsty from his journey and craving a drink. The owner of the water says he may drink it — the color, smell and taste are good — but warns beforehand that it will make him ill enough to die or nearly die. The thirsty man does not listen. He is as thirsty as a person denied water for seven days after an operation, crying for a drink. Because of his overpowering desire he dips out a bit, finds it very tasty, drinks his fill, and gets so sick that he almost dies. He did not listen because of his desire.

A reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Chah's talk)

Strong craving has a way of making warnings go quiet. Ajahn Chah's parable is not meant to shame the thirsty man, but to help us recognise that moment in ourselves. Pausing long enough to hear the warning, and remembering how we felt last time, can be the kindest thing we do for ourselves.

Reflection written by Being Mindful Stories with AI help, in the spirit of the talk. These are not Ajahn Chah's own words.

In brief (our summary)

A thirsty traveller is warned that a tempting drink will make him gravely ill, drinks his fill anyway, and nearly dies.

Teaching point

Desire can drown out a clear warning; sense pleasures are sweet but can carry poison.

When this story may help

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Chah in the talk “The Two Faces of Reality”, in The Teachings of Ajahn Chah (2007 web edition), pp. 30–31

The book is © The Sangha, Wat Nong Pah Pong, offered for free distribution. Read the talk free at ajahnchah.org.

The story text is Being Mindful Stories's retelling in our own words of how Ajahn Chah tells it in this talk, not his own words and not a quotation. Read the talk in the book for his exact words. The title, summary and reflection are Being Mindful Stories's editorial notes. Please credit the teacher and link the original talk in the book. Markdown version

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